declared French nationals (naturels français) and will benefit to rights attached to that quality if they come back to France, establish their domicile there and take the civic oath.' As the expulsion of the Huguenots had taken place more than a century earlier and there were extensive Huguenot diasporas in many countries, where they often intermarried with the population of the host country, the law potentially conferred French citizenship on numerous Britons, Germans, South Africans and others - though only a fraction actually took advantage of it. Article 4 of the June 26, 1889 Nationality Law stated that: 'Descendants of families proscribed by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes will continue to benefit from the benefit of the December 15, 1790 Law, but on the condition that a nominal decree [i.e., a decree stating the name of the specific applicant for citizenship] should be issued for every petitioner. That decree will only produce its effects for the future'. Foreign descendants of Huguenots lost the automatic right to French citizenship in 1945 (by force of the ordonnance du 19 octobre 1945, revoking the 1889 Nationality Law). Many German descendants of Huguenots had become assimilated in Nazi Germany; France, just liberated from Nazi occupation, was unwilling to leave them the option of becoming its citizens. Greece Various phenomena throughout Greek history (the extensive colonization by classical Greek city states, the vast expansion of Greek culture in Hellenistic times, the large dominions at times held by the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire, and the energetic trading activity by Greeks under the Ottomans) all tended to create Greek communities far beyond the boundaries of modern Greece. Recognizing this situation, Greece grants citizenship to broad categories of people of ethnic Greek ancestry who are members of the Greek diaspora, including individuals and families whose ancestors have been resident in diaspora communities outside the modern state of Greece for centuries or millennia..[..] Anyone wishing to do so must present a number of documents, including "[a]vailable written records ... proving the Greek origin of the interested person and his ancestors." For example, the Code of Greek Citizenship776, as amended by the Acquisition of Greek Nationality by Aliens of Greek Origin Law (Law 2130/1993) Article 15: (2) People of Greek descent may acquire Greek citizenship provided there are no "restrictive" conditions, as mentioned in sub-paragraph b, paragraph 1, of article 5 of this law, according to a decision issued by the Secretary General of the Prefecture, which must also be published in the Government's Gazette. A three-member committee, composed by the Greek Consul as president and two members, opines on the status of the person of Greek descent. The Ministry of Economy and Finances and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decides about the members of the committee and their payment. The committee members must be Greek citizens. To establish the status of the person of Greek descent, the above committee interviews the interested party and evaluates the presented evidence proving said status. (3). The application along with the evidence submitted and the committee's opinion, mentioned in the previous paragraph regarding the status of the applicant - as of Greek descent - are sent by the respective Consulate to the local Secretary General of the Prefecture, for the issuance of Greek citizenship. Before the issuance of said decision, a commentary note is issued by special committees, which are formed by the joint decision of the Ministers of Economy and Finances, Internal Affairs, Public Administration and Decentralization, published in the Government Gazette..[‌].. The special committee's role is to provide an additional opinion on the status of the persons of Greek descent who wish to obtain Greek citizenship, based on the evidence transmitted by the Greek Consulate. Said committees form their opinion by evaluating the interview given to the three-member committee of the previous paragraph. (4). In order to acquire Greek citizenship, persons of Greek descent must take an oath in the presence of a Greek Consul or the Secretary General of the Prefecture within 776
http://athens.usembassy.gov/uploads/7z/Z4/7zZ4A6EyE4dMjph5dNxFew/citizenship_code.pdf
Hard Copy Print Version: Last Update: 09-01-2011: Other Translations Available from: www.african-white-refugees.co.nr
JSD.17